Stock market today: Live updates

Stocks fell sharply on Monday, bringing the S&P 500 back into correction territory, as traders nervously looked ahead to President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.

The S&P 500 dropped more than 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 146 points, or 0.3%.

Tech giants Nvidia and Meta Platforms 5% and 2.3%, respectively, to lead markets lower. Tesla also lost 6%. Tech stocks have struggled to recapture their meteoric rise from last year that was spurred by rising artificial intelligence sentiment. AI darling Nvidia, for example, is now more than 31% off of its 52-week high.

The broad market index is more than 10% below a record set in February. It also hit its lowest level since September on Monday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also reached levels not seen since September and is 16% below its all-time high set in December.

A slew of tariffs previously announced by the Trump administration will go into effect on Wednesday — what Trump has called “Liberation Day” — including a 25% levy on “all cars that are not made in the United States.” The president is also expected to announce his plan for reciprocal duties aimed at countries that impose tariffs on U.S. imports.

Trump did little to assuage fears over the weekend, with The Wall Street Journal reporting Sunday that the president had in recent days pushed his advisors to get more aggressive when it comes to tariffs. In a Saturday interview with NBC News, Trump said that he “couldn’t care less” if foreign automakers raise their prices due to these new tariffs.

The rocky start to the week marks a stark reversal in what could have been a promising uptrend. Stocks posted a brief comeback in the middle of March that saw the S&P 500 recover from correction territory, as investors began to digest Trump’s plans for U.S. trade policy. However, the sell-off that began in February is now intensifying as the April 2 date for reciprocal duties closes in.

In concert with Trump’s announcement last week for the 25% tariff on imported cars, he also noted that the tariffs would be in place for the entirety of his second term. On Sunday, Trump further unsettled investors by asserting that Wednesday’s reciprocal tariffs will take aim at all countries, and not just the roughly 10 to 15 nations that have a pronounced trade deficit with the U.S.

Worry over U.S. trade policy has dampened economists’ growth outlooks. The latest CNBC Rapid Update survey points to first-quarter economic expansion of just 0.3%, well below the 2.3% growth seen in the fourth quarter.

“All in all, the uncertainty will continue to drive a ‘wait and see’ approach from American businesses,” said Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for wealth management at Northern Trust. “We have increased tariffs as our base case, which has led us to lower our U.S. growth estimate and increase our inflation forecast for 2025. The extent of the increase in tariffs, however, leaves both a moving target.”

Monday marks the final day of what has been a tumultuous month and quarter for Wall Street. The S&P 500 dipped into correction territory in March after hitting a record in February. It was 9.2% below its all-time high through Friday’s close.

The S&P 500 is down more than 7% for the month, on pace for its biggest one-month slide since September 2022, when it dropped 9.3%. The Nasdaq has lost 10% in March, while the Dow has fallen 5.8%.

For the quarter, the S&P 500 was down 6.3%. That puts it on pace to snap a five-quarter winning streak. The Nasdaq has lost 12.3% this quarter, which would mark its biggest quarterly pullback since a 22.4% plunge in the second quarter of 2022. The Dow has shed 2.9% in the first three months of 2025.